


I Am Not Throwing Away My (One) Shot(s)

by Puns4Funs



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Multimedia, One Shot Collection, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Swearing, Texting, Tumblr Prompt, but not too bad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2018-12-14 12:52:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11783550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Puns4Funs/pseuds/Puns4Funs
Summary: Lams one-shots based on tumblr prompts! Can all be read independently.Prompt 2: My printer isn’t printing anymore and my papers are due tomorrow so I’m on my knees in front of your door begging to use your printer when the old lady from above passes us and thinks I’m proposing to youPrompt 3: Truth or Dare: Alex kisses John on a dare, making the rest of the night incredibly awkward, because they're both dense morons.Prompt 4: I walk into the dorm kitchen to see your hand bleeding profusely and you tell me that you were trying to make pudding but there’s no step that requires a knife what the fuck do you mean you were trying to cut open the eggshell





	1. Raindrops

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: It’s a rainy day and I see you get side-splashed by a car and I’m laughing so hard until I get hit too.
> 
> I don't know why, but this just screamed Lams to me, and i had to write it XD
> 
> Enjoy!

Rain. Something that provided humans the water they couldn’t live without. Something that was essential to all farming, which was also pretty damn critical for the survival of man-kind. Something that provided hours of entertainment of playing in the mud for kids. Not as critical, but still something to be included. Something that made planet Earth habitable for humans. Ah, yes. Rain. Amazing.

As long as one didn’t get caught outside while the rain was pouring so hard and fast, that one got soaked in ten seconds flat. As long as one didn’t have to run 10 more minutes to get home. In that case, rain was fucking awful.

This was the conclusion Alex reached as he was running through the streets of New York, trying to reach his flat. Every time his foot hit the ground the number they got, and the more water sprayed up on his shoes. Not that it mattered anymore - he was completely soaked, in and out. He could even feel his underwear starting to stick to his body, in that uncomfortable way it did when it got wet.

He had tried to use his bag as some sort of protection against the pouring heavens, but alas, that obviously hadn’t been a success. Now, both he AND everything in his bag was wet. He prayed that his computer was going to survive, because if he had to buy a new one, he would have to sell a kidney. Which he rather wouldn’t. He liked to have his body intact. But if it came to that, he would do it. He was going to graduate college, even if it killed some part of him in the process.

College was actually the source of his current problem. He had been at the library, working on a group project before being stuck out in the rain. His other group members, John Jay and James Madison had both been there earlier, but Jay had left after only one hour of working, and Madison had left a while after. Alex couldn’t stand Jay, who was completely without any sort of responsibility. He had barely done any work, so Alex would probably have to do Jay’s part of the project as well. He liked Madison, though, hard-working and honest, but always sick. At least he got work done.

But since both Jay and Madison had left, he had lost track of time and suddenly the library was closing, it was pouring cats and dogs outside, and there was 14 minutes until the next bus that could bring him home arrived. Typical, he thought, splashing through the streets.

His legs were completely numb by now, and he was panting like a dog on a hot summer day. He should really start taking that ‘getting in shape’ thing seriously, Alex thought to himself. Though, to be honest, that would probably not happen. But nevertheless.

As you may imagine, Alex was in a pretty damn foul mood. That was, until something borderline hilarious happened.

He stopped for a moment, gripping his knees, trying to catch his breath. He looked up and saw someone running towards him. Well, maybe not towards _him_ , but in his general direction. It was a man, probably about his own age, with what would probably be long curly hair, had it not been flattened by the rain, and the freckles in his entire face became visible as he got closer. The thought that he was cute crossed Alex’s mind, but that was completely overshadowed when a car drove past Freckles and freaking _drowned_ him in all the water that splashed up on him.

Freckles froze in his tracks, looking positively horrified. They got eye contact. And then Alex doubled over, laughing harder than he had the past months, which was met with a murderous stare by Freckles. Even despite that, Alex couldn’t stop laughing. That was, until that same car passed him and he got the shower of the century as well. That stopped his laughing.

 Freckles and he got eye contact again, and they just stood there, staring at each other for a few seconds.

Then they both started howling with laughter. Freckles jogged over to Alex, who had completely forgotten the rain for the time being.

“Karma is a bitch, huh?”, Freckles laughed, wiping a tear from his eye. Or a raindrop. Really, it was hard to tell.

“Yeah, that just got set in stone”, Alex laughed, extending his hand. “I’m Alex, by the way”.

Freckles took his hand and shook it. “John”.

“Well, John, what do you say we get shelter from this fucking rain? My flat’s two minutes away”, Alex said, grinning like a maniac.

“I say that sounds like a solid plan, Mr. Ponytail” John responded, reflecting Alex’s smile in a way that made his cold, rain-wet heart melt.

“Well, then. Follow me! And try to keep up!”

Alex began sprinting without waiting for a response, which came after he began running;

“WAS THAT A FUCKING CHALLENGE?” he heard John scream after him.

Alex looked behind, still running, to see a determined, somewhat angry John following him only a few meters behind.

“YEAH, IT’S A FUCKING CHALLENGE” he yelled as a response. This seemed to fuel John’s determined anger even further and he increased his speed. Alex laughed, turning his head to look where he was going. He took a sharp turn left, stopping as he heard a surprised yell from behind him. He stopped and turned around to see John lying on the ground, looking perplexed.

Alex tried to hold back his laughter as he jogged over to John and put out his hand to help him up. Taking the outstretched hand, John got on his legs again, giving Alex an embarrassed glance.

“The road is wet and slippery, and I had to take that turn freaking fast, since you couldn’t be bothered to yell out a warning. It’s not that funny!” he pouted, pulling a wet lock of hair away from his face, but not letting go of Alex’s hand.

“You look like drowned puppy! I would say that’s not only funny, but also cute!”, Alex responded with an affectionate laugh.

“Oh, shut your mouth” came John’s weak response as a blush snuck its way onto his face, only making Alex laugh even more.

John’s hand was nice and warm despite the cold. Which Alex also very much wanted to be. They would both definitely get a cold if they stayed out much longer, so Alex tugged John’s hand and they walked in comfortable silence, hand in hand the rest of the way to his apartment, ignoring the raindrops still falling on the both of them.


	2. Printers + Misunderstandings = ?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: my printer isn’t printing anymore and my papers are due tomorrow so I’m on my knees in front of your door begging to use your printer when the old lady from above passes us and thinks I’m proposing to you
> 
> Again, this just screamed Lams to me XD. I just got a clear picture of Alex panicking because he can't print his paper, and then beg John for help. I changed it a bit, though, so the old lady lives in the apartment in fornt of John's.
> 
> Enjoy!

Alex was tapping the keyboard at lightning speed, filling the page with paragraphs. Stopping for a moment to examine the work, he leaned back in his chair and took a swig of his coffee. After correcting a few minor mistakes, he continued.

He had been working on this for so long, and it had to be absolutely perfect. He wouldn’t allow himself to be even the least bit sloppy. His teacher’s expectations for his work were gigantic at this point, and he had once vowed to himself that he would always impress and raise those expectations even further.

He paused for yet another sip. By now, it was only the finishing touches he was adding. Which was good, since he had to turn the assignment in the next day. He glanced at the bottom of his screen, where his computer informed him that it was 2:14 AM, so that he, in fact, had to turn the assignment in today. Not that it made that big of a difference, really.

With a sigh, and a chug of coffee, he wrote the last two pages of his essay, smiling in triumph as he set the last punctuation mark. Now all he had to do was check for mistakes (which were highly unlikely), and then print the finished product.

Even though he knew there weren’t any errors, he still proofread the entire thing, because even though it took a while, he had to be 200% sure there wasn’t anything he had missed. He was a perfectionist like that.

Slowly becoming more at ease, he finally got to the printing part. Which was where things started going majorly downhill for the poor college-student Alexander Hamilton. Because when he pressed the ‘print’ button, a most unfortunate message popped up:

 

 Alex sat for a few seconds, staring at his screen in disbelief.

Then his stomach dropped to the floor, and he felt as if someone had slammed a heavy book in his face. He gripped his computer, searching for a solution in panic. As he couldn’t find one, his breathing got faster and harder, and tears were forming in his eyes. He felt sick to the bone. This couldn’t be happening. Not with this essay. 10% of his grade depended on this, and if he couldn’t-

_Get it together!_ He thought, mentally slapping himself. He had been in much worse situations than this, and had still managed. Alexander _Fucking_ Hamilton wouldn’t let a mere printer ruin his night!

He drank the rest of his coffee, thoughts flying around in his brain searching for a solution. Then it hit him - the guy who lived in the apartment to his right had a printer. Or so he assumed, since he had heard it on many occasions. Yes, that was what he was going to do. Even if he had to wake up his neighbor in the middle of the night, he would get his essay printed.

He was on his way out the door, computer in hand, when he saw his reflection in a mirror. He looked like a mess, half-dressed, even a bit pathetic if he had to be honest. He considered changing his clothes, but instead changed his mind, because if he looked apologetic too, maybe he would be more convincing. With a deep breath, he stepped out into the hallway.

With determined steps, he walked towards the door of the man with the power to save his ass. If the man was even willing to help him. They had never talked, after all. So Alex just crossed his fingers and prayed that chivalry wasn’t dead. Then he summoned all the power his sleep-deprived, coffee-running body could muster and slammed his fist repeatedly on the door. He didn’t stop, even after two minutes of rapidly abusing the poor piece of wood that had done nothing to offend him (except for not opening).

_Finally,_ he heard steps approaching from inside the flat. Stopping the knocking, he took a step back and took a deep breath, preparing to charm the ever-loving fuck out of his neighbor, because he could see no other of convincing him. Wait, maybe inducing pity would actually be a better strategy-

The door opened with a slam, and a guy with the craziest bed-head Alex had ever seen gave him the deadliest stare he had ever experienced.

“What. The. _Fuck_. Do you think you’re doing?” the guy growled with squinted eyes, staring right into Alex’s soul, and a groggy voice filled with hatred for his disturber. Not good.

Alex fell to his knees.

“I’ve nowhere else to turn!” he begged, starting off dramatically. The guy raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

“My printer has run out of ink, and I have a crucial essay to turn in at 8 AM! By everything that is holy, would you please- “Alex continued, but was cut off by a gasp behind him. He turned, and saw an old lady in a pajama staring at the two of them with wide eyes and hands covering her mouth.

Awkward silence followed, as the three stared at each other. Alex stood up, slowly.

“Oh my goodness, I apologize! I didn’t mean to interrupt your proposal, but I just heard the noise and got curious… I’m so happy for the two of you!” the old lady exclaimed excitedly. “Please wait here, I’ll get some cake, then we can celebrate!”. She then disappeared into her room.

Alex whipped his head around to meet a face that looked just as confused and horrified as he felt.

“Shit man, what do we do? I don’t even know your name, and now we’re getting married? Do we just tell her that she misunderstood?” Alex whispered panicky. The guy gave him a horrified look.

“Did you _see_ how excited she got? No way can we disappoint such a nice and old lady!” he whispered in response. “Look, even though I would rather strangle you for interrupting my sleep, let’s just play along ‘kay? It probably won’t be very long, since you woke me up at such an ungodly hour”.

“Okay sure, but, like, can I still borrow your printer? This is crucial, man”

The response was a sour look, and a reluctant nod.

“I’m John Laurens, by the way. Pretty important to know your spouse’s name”

“Alexander Hamilton”. John snickered.

“What the hell kind of name is that?”

Normally Alex would have punched the grin right off John’s pretty freckled face, but the old lady emerged from her apartment with what looked like sand cake, unknowingly saving John from getting a black eye.

Instead, Alex decided to be petty instead, and get way into the act of having just proposed to his ‘boyfriend’. He smiled smugly for himself, as John politely shooed the old lady into his apartment.

John led them to his kitchen table, where the nice old lady put down the cake. Alex figured that he should get his essay printed immediately, before he ended up pissing off John too much.

“John, darling, I’ll just borrow your printer for a sec, then I’ll be right back!”. John narrowed his eyes, but managed a thin smile, and a nod.

Alex then left him alone to entertain the old lady, and went to find the printer. He had a pretty good idea of where it was, since he on more than one occasion had heard the printer from his bedroom. Luckily, the printer was right where he had expected it to be, and he quickly connected his computer to it and started printing. It would probably take a while, considering he had written 91 pages. Whoops.

While he was waiting for all the pages to be printed, he thought up some sort of origin story for their relationship, and when the final page was done he took them and his computer and went into the kitchen to join the others at the table. He took a piece of cake and shoved the entire thing into his mouth, earning an exasperated look from John. Then the old lady turned around and smiled at him.

“Oh, Mr. Hamilton - or should I call you Mr. Laurens? John has just been telling me about the two of you moving together before getting married!” the old lady exclaimed with an excited smile. Alex swallowed the cake.

“Has he now? How nice of him. And I think we’ll be taking my surname” Alex laughed mildly. John shot him an irritated look.

“That’s not for you to decide. ‘John Hamilton’ just sounds idiotic. Now, ‘Alexander Laurens’ sounds just right. What do you think, Miss Ross?”.

Okay, Alex had NOT expected John to play along like this as well. Things just got a _lot_ more interesting.

“Oh, I think either sounds lovely!” sighed Miss Ross, clasping her hands together as she gave the two a loving smile.

“But I must say, Mr. Laurens, you’re one lucky man! Having your boyfriend come over in the middle of the night, getting down on his knees and then giving such a lovely speech! Of course, I only heard some of the start. What was it? ‘By everything that is holy, would you please-‘, was what I heard, I think”. She shot an apologetic at Alex. “I’m very sorry that I interrupted you. You could finish it now, if you don’t mind doing it with a little audience?”.

She looked very hopeful, and Alex seized his chance to use the origin story and his awesome poetic skills to woo the shit out of John. Even if what Miss Ross had heard was the beginning of him begging to use John’s printer.

He gave Miss Ross a shy smile and nodded. Then he turned around to John and got down on one knee.

“I’ll just continue from where I left off” Alex said, clearing his throat and looking up at John, who had an amused glint in his eyes that really complemented his freckles, and the curly hair that framed his face despite not being brushed, and… the proposal. Right. Not even a very cute guy smiling down at him could stop his creativity and charm!

“By everything that is holy, I ask you, John, the ever-favorite object of my heart, to reach deep into the core of your very soul, and use the kindness and grace I have found in you all the way from the day we met, to accept me as a bigger part of your life.

I realize that I may sound selfish when I say I wish to be bound to you for the rest of my days, physically, mentally, emotionally and legally. But I cannot imagine living my life without you by my side, because what would I do without you? You are my pillar, my support and I am yours. Our lives haven’t been easy, I know, and there have been many trials along the way. Your parents, my…accident, and much more, but we overcame it and we did it together. Those things have only strengthened our bond and my love for you. I fear, that without you… I may not be able to go on.

So, John Laurens, would you do me the honor of marrying me?” Alex said in a soft voice, looking up at John with a pleading look and a tear that wasn’t completely fake running down his cheek.

“Of course I will!” John laughed, tackling Alex with a hug he wasn’t prepared for, resulting in the two of them falling to the floor. That didn’t matter, though, because they just continued laughing and embracing each other.

“Oh, that may have been one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard!” Miss Ross said, wiping tears away from her crinkled cheeks.

The two men stood up, hand in hand.

“Thank you, Miss Ross. I’m glad you liked it as much as my adorable spouse!” Alex laughed. John joined in, scratching the back of his head with a blush across his freckles.

“No problem at all, dear. Well, I won’t disturb you two lovebirds anymore!” Miss Ross said, standing up “You can keep the rest of the cake!”

“Thank you so much, Miss Ross” Alex said, as he and John guided her to the door. Honestly, he thought it was over now, but Miss Ross turned around and gave them a knowing look.

“Now, you two are so sweet, but it’s late, so please don’t make more loud noises, if you know what I mean” she said with a wink. Alex and John turned red and began to stutter, but she just waved them off with a ‘Goodnight’. John closed the door. Alex’s heart was beating hard in his chest as the two of them just stared at each other for a while.

“That was… something else” John finally managed to say, making Alex chuckle and taking some of the tension off his shoulders.

“It really was”

“Well, should maybe go out on a date sometime as a start? Getting married right off the bat seems a bit extreme. We’re not in Vegas, after all” John said, giving Alex a shy smile that moved something inside him. He didn’t know what it was, but it was definitely something good.

“Good idea. I’d give you my number, but I don’t really have anything to write on” he managed so say.

John laughed, a deep, rich sound.

“That’s fine. I know where you live, y’know. I’ll just come knocking”.

“That doesn’t sound creepy at all!” Alex said, but couldn’t help but laugh with him. They walked back into the kitchen, and Alex grabbed his computer and essay that had been completely forgotten for a time. Then they walked arm in arm back to Alex’s apartment.

“Do I get a good-night kiss?” Alex teased as he opened his door. John smiled, raising an eyebrow.

“Sure, why not?”

A hundred butterflies swarmed around inside his stomach as John pressed his soft lips to Alex’s cheek. When he pulled back, he gave Alex a shy smile and bid him goodnight.

He felt as if he was dreaming as he walked over and flopped onto his bed, a wide idiotic grin plastered on his face. He couldn’t wait to go on an actual date with John, and maybe start dating him.

And maybe even marrying him in a future far, far away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone knows some good prompts, I'd love to hear it!


	3. Secret or Humiliation?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Truth or Dare: Alex kisses John on a dare, making the rest of the night very awkward, because they're both morons.
> 
> This one is a tad angsty, and i almost made the ending agsty as well. Luckily I'm a sucker for happy endings, so don't you worry!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow it has taken me FOREVER to finish this. Geez.
> 
> It's partly because I have a lot of homework and partly because my inspiration has been somewhat lacking, but here it is! It's not a prompt, but it's an idea I've had in my head for a long time, and then i realized that i could write it down and post it here!
> 
> Oh, and sorry (not sorry) that the chapters keep getting longer!

Sprint, he did. He was sprinting around the house to find his keys. _How could I forget the sleepover?_ John swore to himself.

It was probably because he had been so eager to finally have a chance catch up on Game of Thrones. He had been in the middle of an episode when Peggy had sent the text, and now he was panicking because he couldn’t find his fucking keys. He couldn’t just leave the house unlocked, after all.

After five minutes of frantically searching, he finally found them. He could have wept in relief. He ran out of his apartment, slamming the door and locking it before bolting to the nearest bus stop. By the time he was on the bus, he was gasping for air, earning him some annoyed glances from the other passengers. He ducked his head in embarrassment and slumped down on a seat.

Even though he knew it would be 10 minutes before he reached his destination, he was tapping his right foot rapidly on the ground and looking out the window to see how much longer he would have to sit there. Nothing is more stressful than being late and not being able to do anything about it.

He sighed, pulling his phone out. He should probably tell the others that he was going to be there sooner rather than later. After pondering for a minute, he decided to text Lafayette - it was his sleepover, after all.

John pocketed his phone. Lafayette was always so chill about everything and it just made him feel even worse. He couldn’t wait for the bus to reach his destination, but at the same time he would get so much shit from Peggy when he got there, and, oh god, Angelica would probably give him her famous ice-cold killer face. He shuddered. That was probably one of the worst things ever. You really had to stay on Angelica’s good side - if you didn’t, you would have to live in paranoia, knowing that she could AND would destroy you anytime, anywhere. Luckily, John was on Angelica’s good side - mostly. There had been that one time, but that was too terrible to think about.

He was shaken out of thought as the bus stopped at his destination. He practically jumped out and began sprinting toward Lafayette’s house.

Ten minutes later, he stood on the doorstep panting. Lafayette lived in a pretty fancy neighborhood, and a couple of his neighbors had given John some dirty looks as he had run past them.

When he finally had air in his lungs again, he pushed the button that ringed the doorbell.

He didn’t wait for long. Almost as soon as his finger left the button, the door opened, and Lafayette stood in the doorway to greet him.

“Glad you could make it” he said with a teasing, but friendly smile. John scratched the back of his head, looking down as he muttered an apology that got waved off.

The two of them walked into the living room where everyone else had already made themselves comfortable. Thomas and James were sharing an armchair that wasn’t quite big enough for them both, so James was basically sitting on the lap of Thomas, who seemed ecstatic about it. On the sofa, Hercules was discussing something - probably fashion, judging by the look on his face - with Peggy. Alex sat in the middle of the two, looking bored out of his mind. Angelica sat in another chair, braiding Eliza’s hair. Eliza sat on a pillow on the floor.

“Now everyone is here!” Lafayette declared, resulting in seven heads whipping around to look at them at the same time. As soon as Peggy saw John, she jumped up and started running towards him with murder in her eyes. _Shit_.

John was too scared to move, which probably sounded silly, but when she felt like it, Peggy could be almost as terrifying as Angelica.

When Peggy was close enough, she started speaking;

“WHY. ARE. YOU. LATE?” she growled, inching closer with every word. John could feel her heavy breathing on his skin.

“U-uhh…. I… was catching up on Game of Thrones and forgot to look at the time?” he gulped. Peggy’s frown was replaced by an excited smile, as she stepped back.

“Finally! Damn, John, about time. What episode are you on?”.

Really, Peggy’s mood changed quicker than Alex got into arguments with Thomas. Which certainly was a deed.

“I was in the middle of the season 5 finale when I got your text” he responded, relieved that he had gotten off so easily. Peggy gave him a sympathetic look.

“Oh, my sweet summer child! Just wait until the end of that episode, Jon Snow- “

“SPOILER!” Alex shouted, cutting her off. John gave him a thankful nod. Alex was very protective of John, and especially so when it came to spoilers. But not just there, he always defended him, sometimes even got in fights if anyone dared to make rude comments about his sexuality. He didn’t really know if it was just because he was a good friend, or if he…

“Okay, enough talk about that weird D&D show, let’s get started!” Thomas exclaimed impatiently, interrupting John’s train of thought. Alex whipped around, opening his mouth to argue (probably starting off with “First of all, how DARE you”), but was cut off by Lafayette agreeing with Thomas.

Instead, Alex turned his attention to John.

“Hey, I know you were in a rush, but… where’s your toothbrush and stuff?”

Wow. Typical. In his rush, John had completely forgotten all about bringing anything.

“I forgot. Didn’t really have the time” he sighed, shrugging.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll survive one single day without brushing your teeth. And you can just borrow a t-shirt to sleep in from someone else” Angelica reasoned. The others agreed with her.

“Well, as I was about to say before getting cut off” Lafayette said, giving Peggy a raised eyebrow, “let’s get started! If you all come out here on the floor, we’ll make a circle”.

And make a circle they did, with only mild complaining from Thomas, that ‘his clothes would get ruined’. James shut him down pretty fast, so there was no trouble, really. John smirked. It was so painfully obvious that they liked each other. Yet, none of them had made a move - a topic Peggy liked to complain about.

“So, now we’re in a circle. Why?” Hercules asked, looking at Lafayette who gave him a smirk. He whipped a bottle out for the others to see. Peggy shrieked in delight, and James facepalmed.

“Are we seriously playing spin the bottle?” he sighed. Lafayette shook his head.

“Close. We’re playing truth or dare with a bottle!”

“That’s not much better…” James mumbled, but was smacked by Peggy.

“Aw, come on James! It’ll be fun!” she said with a smile, but a threatening glare, daring him to question that truth and dare was the perfect party game. He gulped, nodding. Thomas gave Peggy a dirty look as she retreated to her own spot in the circle. John chuckled.

“Let’s get started!” Lafayette declared, spinning the bottle. Everyone looked on in excited silence, as the bottle started to slow down, ultimately landing on Eliza, who smiled nervously.

“So, Eliza. Truth or dare?” Lafayette asked.

“Truth” Eliza replied, almost immediately. Smart move. Lafayette gave some of the most horrible dares.

“Well, then Eliza. Who is Maria?” the man in question asked with a devilish smile. Eliza turned red.

“H-how- w-what-” she sputtered, glancing aside.

“I saw you were texting her earlier, and I noticed a lot of hearts. So? Who is she?” he replied. Everyone was looking at Eliza. Peggy and Angelica was staring at her with narrowed eyes, somehow asking ‘Is there something you haven’t told us?’ without using words. Eliza took a deep breath.

“Maria is my friend.”

“Friend?” Peggy said, giving Eliza an accusing glance. Eliza’s face turned even redder.

“Yes, friend. But I… I may have a crush…on…her” she whispered, voice lower for each word. Peggy squealed, and Angelica lit up in a smile. But before anyone could comment, Eliza spun the bottle, which landed on Thomas.

“Thomas, truth or dare?” Eliza said, cutting off Peggy who was about to say something.

“Well, I’m a man, so dare, obviously!” he said with a confident smile, leaning back a bit. John could tell he had made the wrong choice when Eliza smiled.

“Okay. I dare you to hold hands with James for the rest of the game”.

A bit color drained from Thomas’ face, and James sighed heavily.

“W-well, that’s easy! I just have to hold my BEST FRIEND’S hand the rest of the game! Easy!” Thomas exclaimed, with what sounded liked false bravado to John. Because when Thomas took James’ hand in his, John could almost _hear_ his heartrate speed up.

“Ouch. Best friend-zone, huh?” Alex whispered to Hercules, but loud enough so that everyone could hear it. Thomas glared at him, but apparently couldn’t come up with an argument, earning John a triumphant smile from Alex.

In that moment, John knew he wasn’t better than Thomas, because his heart started beating rapidly just from that smile, but honestly, could you blame him? Like, that smile, those _eyes_ , the way he talked when he was really passionate about something, how he always paid attention to John and defended him, the way he looked at him… yes. John had a major crush on him. And he hadn’t done anything about it, despite having felt that way nearly a year. He was just so afraid of ruining their friendship that he had never dared to act on his feelings.

 He pushed those thoughts away. He should just enjoy the evening. Thomas spun the bottle and it landed on Alex. Lafayette laughed.

“Karma’s a bitch, huh?”.

Alex gave him a dirty look.

“So”, Thomas drawled with an arrogant smile, “truth or dare?”

Alex lifted his chin, staring Thomas down. “Dare, obviously”.

Typical. Alex could never back down from a challenge, and since Thomas had taken a dare, Alex felt obligated to do that as well to ‘defend his honor’.

“Well, then Alexander. I DARE you to kiss the hottest person in the room. Except for me, of course.  I’m really not interested” Thomas said, smirking.

Alex narrowed his eyes.

“Except for you? Thomas, you’re the LEAST hot person in the room, but I commend you for your attempts to cover up your insecurities with snarky comments” he said, earning a disbelieving snort from Thomas.

John could feel his stomach turning as Alex stood up, slowly and looked around in the circle. He would probably pick Angelica, or maybe Lafayette. Or James, just to spite Thomas. Oh God, he would definitely do something like that. He felt sick. He could endure Alex flirting with everyone, but he couldn’t watch him kiss one of his closest friends.

Alex made his way over to where John and Angelica was sitting. His heart sank in his stomach. So, Angelica it was… he supposed he just had to look away. He sighed, turning his head around as Alex got down on the floor.

Then he felt warm hands on his cheeks, as they turned his face around to meet a soft pair of lips. His eyes widened. Alex was kissing him. His best friend and long-time crush was _kissing him._

And despite his mind screaming at him to let it stop there, his heart took over and completely melted into it, earning what felt like a smile from Alex, as he moved his lips against John’s. It felt as if everything disappeared around them, being replaced by heat. It felt as if his body was burning up, and Alex was the only thing that could put the fire out. In that moment, everything just felt _right_.

John didn’t know how much time had passed when they drew away from each other. It was far too early in his opinion.

Then the reality of the situation crashed down on him - they had just kissed in front of everyone. Alex’s face was still close to his, looking at him with an apologetic smile. John felt a blush creep onto his face. With a lingering glance at him, Alex retreated to his place in the circle. Everyone was in stunned silence. John looked askance. What if they saw how he really liked it, what if they now knew how much he liked Alex? He didn’t know what to do. Everyone was staring at either Alex or him, not knowing what to say. It just made everything much worse.

“Wow, for a second there I thought it would be me. I would have slapped you so hard!” Angelica declared, breaking the silence. John had never felt so thankful in his life. She was truly an angel of mercy.

“Yeah, I figured” Alex laughed, sounding a bit out of breath. John felt something inside him. Could this really mean that his feelings may be requited, after all?

Those hopes were crushed as Alex turned to Thomas, saying; “See? Some of us hold our best friend’s hand, some of us kiss our best friend. Step up your game, Jefferson”.

That something inside him broke. Snapped in a half. He tried not to reveal anything with a reaction, but inside he felt as if he were dying. He shouldn’t be surprised. Everything was a competition for Alex, so why would this be any different? He swallowed the lumps that was forming in his throat, pushed back the tears that were threatening to spill from his eyes as Alex spun the bottle. The game went on in a blur. He couldn’t get the thought of Alex gently holding his face, bringing their lips together in a kiss that had completely floored John, but probably hadn’t had any effect on Alex.

He was brought back from his grieving when the bottle landed on him. He felt his body tense. Who had spun it?

His question was answered when he heard the voice asking the damning question; “Truth or dare?”

Of course it had to be Thomas Fucking Jefferson. God damn it. No matter which he chose, it would be terrible since John always backed Alex up against Thomas, meaning Thomas also kind of hated John. But, truth was probably the least bad, so that would probably be his choice. Luckily, he wasn’t as prideful as Alex.

He straightened his back and took a deep breath, before saying “Truth.”

That was something he immediately regretted when Thomas smiled and asked an even more damning question; “Okay, truth: how was that kiss?”

John’s head whipped up to look at Alex, who looked about as mortified as he felt. John slowly turned to look at Thomas, feeling like he was going to throw up any second.

“What?”

“You heard me.” Thomas said, examining his fingernails.

Okay, shit. What could he say that wouldn’t reveal his secret? But at the same time not completely reject Alex? Nothing he could come up with on the spot. It hurt deeply in his heart, but he had to go with the answer that rejected Alex.

“Well, it was… a bit weird, I suppose. Felt a bit strange to be kissed by my best friend. And I totally expected him to kiss Angelica, so I was caught by surprise” he said, looking Thomas directly in the eye, putting on a mask of confidence.

“Ouch. Best friend-zone, huh?” Thomas said in a mocking tone, mimicking Alex from earlier that evening. John shrugged and looked at the floor as he spun the bottle.

Now, if he had been looking up, he would have seen the slumped shoulders and hurt expression that his answer had given Alex.

***

At some point the group went into the living room to watch a movie. John excused himself to the toilet as they were picking what to watch (Peggy was loudly campaigning for Disney).

He closed the bathroom door behind him, locking it. Then he slumped down on the toilet seat, finally letting the tears that had been building in his eyes throughout the evening spill. He didn’t dare to make any noise in case someone heard him, so he just sat there quietly, tears streaming down his face and body jerking with silent sobs.

Drawing a shaky breath, he dried his tears away, trying to hold the rest in. He couldn’t stay at the toilet much longer without seeming suspicious, and if he kept crying his eyes would redden and expose him.

He looked in the mirror. It wasn’t too bad yet, but he washed his face a couple of times just in case. Swallowing, he looked his reflection in the eyes. He could do this. He was John Laurens, and he could do this.

Sighing, he exited the bathroom and walked towards the living room with heavy steps and a heavy heart.

Luckily for him, the living room was dark, only illuminated by the television. Peggy had evidently won the discussion, since the movie they were watching was The Princess and the Frog. John knew that it was Peggy’s favorite. Despite his current mood, he couldn’t help but smile.

He looked around for somewhere to sit, but found nothing.

“Um, guys, where am I supposed to sit?” he said, earning a shush from, well, everyone.

“Guys, seri- “

“Oh my God John, shut up the song is about to begin!” Peggy interrupted him, glaring him down. He sighed in defeat and sat down on the floor in front of the sofa, when a finger tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up to see Alex. He froze.

“I think you can join us up here if we just squeeze together” Alex whispered. Eliza and Lafayette who was sitting on the couch with him nodded in agreement, and scooted over, leaving a small spot for John. Beside Alex.

“No, it’s fine, it’ll just be cramped” John whispered, trying not to panic. It would only make the situation worse to sit so close to him the next couple of hours. Peggy and Hercules were singing along to the song rather loudly, making him feel distracted. Peggy was an amazing singer, but Hercules…

” It’s fine, come on!” Eliza reassured him in a hushed tone, and with a kind smile. John sighed. He couldn’t say no to Alex _and_ Eliza.

“Okay, I’m coming u- “

“SHIT MAN, SHUT. UP. YOU’RE RUINING THE SONG!” Peggy yelled, making John basically jump up on the sofa, and halfway up on Alex’s lap. They got eye-contact, and for a second just stared at each other. Then John slid off with the least amount of grace known to human kind, and was grateful for the darkness concealing his blush. He pressed himself as far away from Alex as possible, but to little success. It was, as he had predicted, cramped. And _very_ awkward.

John wished that Peggy’s singing could distract him again, but alas, Alex pressed so closed to him wasn’t something he was able to ignore. He tried to control his beating heart - it was hard to hear the movie over the sheer volume of it. If he really concentrated, he almost thought he could hear another heart beating beside him.

About halfway into the movie, he couldn’t take it anymore. He stood up and was about to leave, when a hand grabbed his arm. John froze. He knew whose hand that was.

“Where are you going?” Alex whispered, looking at John from the couch.

“I just got a headache. I’m just going outside a bit” John excused. Sounded reasonable enough to him. But, to his horror, he saw Alex’s smile in the dark as he said that he needed to go outside as well.

They then sneaked out of the room without saying another word, not wanting to risk angering Peggy again.

Their silence continued as the two of them walked down the halls of the house, and out to the garden. John was racking his brain for ways to get out of this situation. What the hell was he going to do? Maybe he could be outside for a few minutes, and then go inside again. But what if Alex also went inside? That would defeat the purpose of having gone outside in the first place. Maybe if they just stood in silence. But that would be even more awkward than before, and Alex talked all the time, so he would definitely also do it now.

 John felt eyes lingering on him as the cool breeze touched his skin, and the smell of dozens of flower gardens reached his nose. He didn’t turn his head, but he could tell that Alex was looking at him. Yet, he wasn’t saying anything. Unusual.

They stood like that for a while. Then John got fed up with it. Turning around, he faced Alex.

“Why are you staring at me?” John demanded with squinted eyes. Alex jumped in surprise at the sudden movement and speech. He collected himself quickly, though.

“Because you’re here” he said, cocking his head to the side and smiling ever so slightly. A motion that was so _Alex_ that it hit John like a truck. Not only that, it made him angry. Why did Alex have to be like that? He wasn’t the most empathetic person in the world, but coulnd’t he tell that John was hurting?

“That’s a bullshit excuse” he growled. Alex raised an eyebrow.

“How so? There’s not much else to do, since you’re not talking to me” he replied easily.

“If you want to talk, then just start a conversation yourself!” John exclaimed, throwing his hands up exasperation.

“We’re talking now, aren’t we?” Alex said with a cocky smile. John wanted to scream.

Maybe Alex could tell, because his face fell into a serious expression, and he straightened his back. For a time, they just looked at each other. John didn’t know how much time went by, before Alex spoke again.

“I’m sorry about earlier” he said, with a strangely blank expression.

“Earlier?” John asked. He knew exactly what Alex was talking about, but he was intrigued by his expression. If he really didn’t have feelings for him, why would he put on such a carefully crafted mask when touching the subject? Could it really be?

“When… I kissed you. During truth or dare” Alex replied, looking askance, making John more sure in his case. If he could just get Alex in a corner…

“Oh, that. You don’t have to apologize. You were just kissing your best friend, right?” John laughed, stepping closer to him. Alex flinched, making John grow even more confident.

“R-right” Alex muttered, looking down. John almost laughed - Alex really wore his heart on his sleeve.

“What’s wrong?” John asked with an innocent smile, taking yet another step.

“N-nothing. I think I’m going back inside” Alex stuttered, but John grabbed his arm before he could move. He didn’t try to free himself. He just stood there, back turned to John as his shoulders sank.

“Why did you pick me?” John asked gently. Alex started shaking. Suddenly, he whipped around, tearing his arm free. He stared into John’s eyes with the intensity of a lion about to jump on its prey.

“Why do you think?” he hissed, body shuddering, either from the cold or his apparent anger. But it didn’t matter, because those words finally confirmed what John had been hoping. The happiness pooled together in John’s stomach like a warm cup of coffee, and the relief struck him like lightning.

“I think it’s because you’re an idiot” he replied, smiling as he stepped closer and stopped what would have been an offended or hurt reply, by pressing his lips onto Alex’s, whose eyes widened. They stared into each other’s eyes as John slowly pulled back.

“Y-you… wh-what - what” Alex stuttered, blinking rapidly and staring dumbfounded at Jon, who couldn’t help but laugh.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you rendered so completely speechless!” he managed to say between his laughing. Alex pouted, and it looked so cute that John kissed him again.

“Y-you can’t just do that!” Alex exclaimed, his hands fidgeting yet again.

“And why is that?” John smirked, high on the feeling of not being rejected, but being accepted.

“Because,” Alex sighed, “you make me utterly helpless”. Then he gave John a quick peck on the lips.

“Oh, do I now?” John said, with an idiotic grin on his face.

“You have no idea” Alex replied, taking John’s hand and giving him a smile so genuine that he couldn’t think straight. Then again, _he_ wasn’t straight, so what did it matter?

“How long?” John whispered, looking down at their intertwined hands.

“A long time. A year or two, I think” Alex smiled, leaning his forehead against John’s. “You?”

“I realized it a year ago, but I’ve probably liked you longer than that” John confessed, closing his eyes and enjoying the sensation of Alex’s forehead against his. They stood in silence for a time, before John spoke again.

“What should we tell the others?”

“Nothing. Let them see it for themselves” Alex replied with a wicked grin. John laughed at that. The others would be completely baffled. Peggy would have the strongest reaction of all, and Thomas would probably be pissed that Alex got with his crush before him. But honestly, John barely cared about their opinions.

Everything was going to change now. And yet, John wasn’t scared or nervous in the slightest.

Because in that moment when he and Alex stood so close together, breathing and smiling and _being_ together under the stars, John felt as if he could take over the world as long as he had Alex by his side.


	4. Hell's Kitchen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: I walk into the dorm kitchen to see your hand bleeding profusely and you tell me that you were trying to make pudding but there’s no step that requires a knife what the fuck do you mean you were trying to cut open the eggshell
> 
> Disclaimer, I have no fucking clue how dorms work aight. And who is John’s roommate?? You decide

John had been lying in the same position for the last 3 hours just to finish his drawing. He sat up, squinting at the paper. It was good, he guessed, but definitely not his best.

Sighing, he stood up and stretched his body. Dizziness hit him, and he grabbed his desk to avoid falling over. He supposed that was a sign that he should go to sleep, but his stomach was growling in protest. Therefore, he decided to go down to the dorm kitchen and get some food, so his stomach would shut the fuck up.

He sneaked over to the door, careful not to disturb his roommate who got very pissed if his ‘beauty sleep’ was interrupted. Who even uses that term? Jeez.

Slowly prying the door open, John squeezed out and closed it gingerly behind him. Not a sound came from inside so he supposed he was safe from The Beast, which was a codeword he had come up with on one occasion where he had accidently awoken his roommate in the night. For someone who valued his own beauty sleep so highly, one would have thought he wasn’t one to scream at the top of his lungs in the middle of the night.

John sneaked down the dark hallway, making his way towards the fried shrimp rice he knew he had left in the fridge. His stomach growled, apparently unsatisfied with his progress thus far. But not for long, because now there was light at the end of the tunnel - the light of heaven. John finally emerged to the kitchen. And he was apparently not the only one there.

There, standing by the kitchen counter stood a man resembling a cross between a deer caught in the headlights, and a hobo, who stared at John so intensely that he had to take a step back. Then he noticed that the guy’s hand was bleeding. Not like a papercut or when you accidently cut a small graze at the top of your little finger. This guy has blood running down his hands, and John let out a panicked scream, as one would expect of seeing an intense hobo-deer bleeding in one’s dorm kitchen.

The hobo-deer in question also began screaming, perhaps in shock of being screamed at by a random guy in a turtle t-shirt, and rainbow-colored pajamas-pants on the middle of the night.

John regained his senses first, remembering that _The Beast Tm _was within hearing-range. He took in the hobo-deer, trying to assess the wound. He wasn’t big on first-aid, but he had to do something.

“Alright, we have to stop the bleeding!” John exclaimed, rushing over to the first-aid box that was fastened to the wall and pried it open. He grabbed some bandages and a scissor. The rest of the contents spilled out on the floor with a crash, and John swore colorfully. He’d clean it up later.

“Okay, we’ll probably have to clean off the blood first” John said calmly, knowing that he had already spooked the hobo-deer enough. The man in question squinted at him.

“Right. Yes, yeah, cool. Clean of the blood, yep” he said, almost in a sing-song voice. _Oh my God, he’s insane!_ one part of John’s brain screamed. _No, you dumbass, he’s in shock!_ said the second part of John’s brain and hit the other part in the head, donkey-kong style.

While maintaining a calm, rational demeanor, John got the hobo-deer’s blood washed off, dried his hand with a towel and put on the bandages before they could start bleeding all over again. They were both silent the entire time, and it felt… oddly intimate.

“Thanks. I don’t make good decisions under pressure, so I would probably have lost all my blood before reacting. I’m Alex”, said the hobo-deer named Alex after a while, and extended his non-bandaged hand for at greeting. John shook it carefully.

“No problem. My name’s John,” he said, and suddenly noticed the counter, which was littered with butter, sugar and other ingredients. “What… what exactly are you trying to make here?”.

Alex, who was significantly shorter than him, shot his head up to look directly in his eyes, just as intense as before, and smiled the proudest smile John had ever seen.

“Pudding”, he declared.

John was honestly taken aback, and had to take a moment to reassess the situation. He was in the kitchen at night, with a short, wild-eyed guy, who was wearing a pajama that looked like it had been washed with mud instead of water, and who had a loose ponytail that looked so greasy that John could almost hear it singing ‘You’re the One That I Want’, and who had eye-bags so big that they could have carried at least one baby-turtle each. And he had _somehow_ majorly injured his hand while making… pudding.

“Please don’t mind me asking, but how the fuck did you manage to cut such a deep gash in not one, but two fingers while making pudding? There’s no step requiring a knife, is there?” John asked, trying his best to sound at least 12% polite.

Alex’s smile didn’t falter. “I was cutting the egg open!” he stated proudly.

John couldn’t help it. He doubled over laughing, and didn’t even bother to keep the volume down this time. When he finally thought he had it under control he looked up, which was a mistake, because Alex looked so offended that John began laughing even harder.

“So, this is it,” John wheezed, “the peak of our generation’s brains and glory!”.

 “Fuck off” Alex grumbled, making John unable to stop laughing no matter how hard he tried.

When he finally caught his breath, he said, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be cooking. You look like you haven’t slept in two days!”.

“Three” Alex corrected, seemingly proud of the accomplishment. He still shot John a sour look though.

Since the adrenalin from the situation had left his body, John’s stomach decided to demonstrate the mating call of a great sperm whale. He could have sworn the sound echoed down the hall.

For a couple of seconds there was dead silence in the kitchen. Then John slowly looked down at Alex, who stared at him with a peculiar mix of awe and mockery. They both broke down laughing, and a merry sound echoed through the room instead of an embarrassing one.

When they caught their breath, Alex opened his mouth.

“You don’t get to say anything,” John broke him off, “you were trying to cut open an egg!”.

“It seemed like a good idea at the time!” Alex protested, but the irritation from before was gone.

“I don’t know what world it’s a good idea in. The one of a severely sleep-lacking student who’s in debt, perhaps?” John shot back with a smile.

“Ha! Are you kidding? If you knew anything about me, you would know that I’m in _crushing_ debt!” Alex countered, a victorious smirk on his chapped lips. _John, why are you looking at his lips? Stop!_ said John’s eternal voice, and John complied, turning to the fridge to dig out his food. “Touché” he smiled.

The shrimp fried rice was untouched, just as John had left it. He took it out and went to find a fork. Noticing Alex’s hungry look, he grabbed two.

John sat down at the table and beckoned Alex to do the same, offering him the fork. It didn’t take much convincing. They ate in silence. Quickly, though, because Alex wolfed down food like a hungry street-cat, and John had to do the same to have a chance of satisfying his stomach.

“When did you last eat?” John had to ask - he was genuinely curious. Alex squinted his eyes, seemingly doing the math in his head.

“Like, 27 hours ago? I’m not really sure. I always forget to eat”. John was honestly appalled.

“What? You haven’t slept for three days and haven’t eaten for 27 hours? How is that possible? And how the hell are you alive?”.

Alex shrugged. “My friends usually cook for me and remind me to sleep, but they’re on vacation together this week. Had to get away from the stress and all that, y’know”.

“So you’re the type of person that can’t take care of themselves, huh?” John sighed, and rose from his chair to clean up the first-aid kit that had fallen to the floor. “Do you study medicine or something? I know someone who did, and they did something similar”.

“No, not medicine. I’m studying law and politics” Alex said nonchalantly, picking at his nails.

John choked, spun around and looked at Alex in shock. “Law AND politics? Is that even possible?!”.

“Impressed?” Alex asked, smiling smugly. _He_ was clearly impressed with himself.

John quickly composed himself, cleaning up in a flash. This eggshell-cutting idiot was _not_ getting the last word.

“Impressed?” he scoffed, “by someone who can’t cook? No way”.

Alex narrowed his eyes. “If you’re such a good cook, why don’t you teach me?”

“Eager to spend more time with me? I can’t say I blame you” John shot back, enjoying the pink that crept onto the other guy’s cheeks. _Damn, he looked cute when he blushed._ If there was one thing John couldn’t resist, it was cute guys.

“But why not?” John sighed. “I would feel bad to let America’s worst cook go without guidance for the rest of his days, especially since he can’t afford to buy food, what, with his crushing debt”.

Alex smiled, and this time it looked very… sincere. “You do know me.”

“I won’t do it now, though. It’s too late, or early, or whatever” John answered, flustered and thrown off.

“Yeah, it is. You know what, though? I’m still hungry, and I bet you are as well. Want to go out and find some grub?” Alex offered, giving another smile that shot straight through John.

“Sure. But you do know what we look like, right?” he answered. Alex paused, looking John up and down.

“I don’t know about myself, but you look like a gay turtle,” he concluded.

“Pretty accurate. And you look like a hobo-deer” John countered, fighting to stifle a grin.

“A ragingly bisexual hobo-deer, thank you very much. We make a good duo, don’t you think?” Alex beamed, bowing and offering John his arm, old-school style.

John couldn’t help but laugh, the butterflies in his stomach fluttering to life. He dramatically accepted the arm.

“I suppose we do”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead!!! Yay!
> 
> I finally got the inspiration to write on this again, but my exams are coming up so I honestly don't know when I'll post next. If you have a good prompt, I would LOVE to hear it tho!


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